Baby abandoned twice by father in China may be returned to him

A father who abandoned his baby twice in as many months in Shanghai has been asked to take the child back by the authorities, according to reports.

The six-month-old boy, referred to by the pseudonym Xiaoyu, was first abandoned by his father on March 19 and placed by police under temporary care in a hospital in Baoshan, a suburb of Shanghai. Police persuaded the unnamed man to collect his baby almost two months later, last Thursday, but he then abandoned his son for a second time that same day.

But authorities said on Wednesday they were trying to contact the father again and convince him to take his child home, reported news site ThePaper.cn.

“I cannot bring him up – I don’t have any money, and cannot change his diapers or breastfeed,” the report quoted him as saying.

Later the same day, hospital paediatricians were informed that the boy had been abandoned again.

“We received a call after 8pm, and by 11pm the police had sent a child to us,” said Jin, who estimated the father was younger than 30 years old. “We saw it was the same child who was taken away at noon.”

Jin added that if it were confirmed that Xiaoyu is an abandoned baby, he would be sent to an orphanage.

The hospital has ensured Xiaoyu has 24-hour nursing care, while Baoshan police are in contact with the father to try to persuade him to take the boy back and to assess the father’s financial situation and mental condition, the report said.

“If he doesn’t listen to our advice and insists on intentionally abandoning children, we will take relevant measures in accordance with the law,” they were quoted as saying.

Health care costs were being covered by the hospital, but would be settled by the Baoshan district civil affairs bureau.